Delhi court issues notice to Robert Vadra in ED money laundering case

A Delhi court on Saturday issued notice to Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Special Judge (PC Act) Sushant Changotra of the Rouse Avenue Court said that he will hear Vadra and the 10 other proposed accused in the case before taking cognisance of the prosecution complaint.

The case will be heard next on August 28.

The case centers on a 3.5-acre land parcel bought by Vadra’s company, Skylight Hospitality, from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore in February 2008. The transaction allegedly involved the use of false documents. It is claimed that soon after, the property was mutated in Skylight’s favour and transferred to Vadra within 24 hours.

It is alleged that the Haryana government, then led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress party, swiftly granted a commercial license to Vadra’s firm, which dramatically increased the land’s market value. In September 2012, Skylight Hospitality sold the land to realty giant DLF for ₹58 crore, allegedly resulting in windfall gains for Vadra.

The ED alleges that this sequence of deals generated proceeds of crime, which were further used to acquire other assets by Vadra and his associated entities.

Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain and Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) NK Matta appeared for the ED.